‘We must speak out’: grieving parents of Otto Warmbier, American tortured in North Korea, blast Donald Trump for ‘lavish praise’ of Kim Jong-un
- Donald Trump says he accepts Kim Jong-un’s claim of ignorance about the treatment of Otto Warmbier, who died in 2017, days after being freed by North Korea
- But Warmbier’s parents, whose courage Trump hailed in 2018’s State of the Union speech, say ‘Kim and his evil regime’ are responsible for his death
The parents of an American man tortured and left in a coma in North Korea strongly rebuked US President Donald Trump on Friday for his “lavish praise” of the north’s leader, Kim Jong-un, and accepting Kim’s claim that he did not know about the case at the time.
Fred and Cindy Warmbier, parents of 22 year old Otto Warmbier – who died days after being sent back to the United States from North Korea in a coma in 2017 – condemned the US leader’s assessment of Kim this week following their summit in Hanoi.
“We have been respectful during this summit process. Now we must speak out,” they said in a statement.
“Kim and his evil regime are responsible for the death of our son Otto. Kim and his evil regime are responsible for unimaginable cruelty and inhumanity,” they said.
“No excuses or lavish praise can change that.”